To assess risk tolerance, I consider the number of times total fixed investment covers drawdown. For proforma spreadsheets, I set a minimums for the latter and let asset allocation float. The result is that AA in percentage terms stay anyway within a 5% range.

Having personally been through this twice, I'd say that one far too easily overestimates one's unique value to the company. Nobody is unique in the eyes of those whose own expertise and experience become more dear upon the departure of a subordinate. My read is that you have no prospects of changing...

This approach forces one to confront a number of unknowables, the most important of which is actual investment returns. Whether one will still be filing jointly is another biggie. Implementing at one's theoretical tax equilibrium rate forces one to incur real "unnecessary" taxes now, before the futu...

Balance. One can ameliorate, but not eliminate bad luck. When you experience stuff now, you experience them as a couple in your 30's. In your 50's, you'll tend to want to do different things. If you have the time (?), inclination (check!), and money (check!) to do more of the stuff you both enjoy no...

Me too. Looking at converting a like amount of VTIAX. If paying a marginal tax of 37.1% (24% + 3.8% NIIT + 9.3% Cali), I've calculated that VTIAX would have to drop an additional 10.5% in 2019 - then increase 7% (Vanguard "guidance" for international equity) in each of the next four years - for me t...

Not to beat a dead horse but it really doesn't matter that you haven't opened an Roth IRA yet. Do a conversion of $1 tomorrow and start the clock. You will immediately have access to all converted funds which will quickly be tens of thousands of dollars, just not the earnings above the converted do...

Also bridged to social security with a 10 year fixed term SPIA starting in 2016 by annuitizing a Vanguard variable annuity. Got the contract rate of 4%. Current SEC return on Total Bond in a VVA is 2.92%.

A SPIA makes sense when otherwise one might come up short if they live too long. IOW's if "longevity insurance" is necessary. In my case, I will buy a joint life SPIA at age 75+ if my wife and I are still likely to live to 100 and nobody in our family has seemed willing to reliably take over our inv...

Let them do the confronting. Respond calmly and truthfully to their specifics and if there's still a problem you might have to find a job elsewhere. There's no obligation of presumption of innocence or due process within a company. That's the world we live in today.

Nevertheless, we’re not sorry or kicking ourselves for holding a substantial VA. And every so often we roll a portion of the VA over to an immediate annuity via a 1035 exchange to produce monthly income. The tax treatment of such monthly payments is favorable, as only the pro rata portion of each c...

Your parents had the same issues with their parents. If they are "still sharp" they would welcome your interest - I know I would. But the level of involvement should be phased in. The first level should be a candid discussion of how they want you to be involved in their overall care as they approach...

Best to put your severance into a money market until you are stable in your new situation. IMHO getting a new acceptable job should be your first priority. In the interim, it's better to keep your financial options open.

Thanks to posters here for reminding me once again to not time the market. I was thinking seriously of upping my stake in international equity despite a decade of regret for originally having done so. Vanguard projects 7% vs 4% for domestic, blah, blah, blah. My IPS calls for 50/50 with 5% bands and...

Modest application of lipstick prior to sale is warranted. So is addressing basic functionality. But serious cosmetic remodeling will likely be wasted on a potential buyer who will not appreciate your choices.

Why are we just assuming that all of these people are now suddenly running for cover? Because it feeds into the worldview of those holding a 50/50 portfolio who have secretly regretted it while the market is going up. Some hold a 50/50 and are happy with it and that's fine. It's the one's who regre...

Misleading title. The article refers to whether an investor is now ready to or now just beginning retirement. If so, this wouldn't have been true the last time (2008-9) and the calculus is now (possibly) different. This is Christine Benz's/Morningstar's exact title, hence the quotes. https://www.mo...

You "know the company quite well" when you are an insider trading on not-yet-public information. Ask Martha Stewart how that turned out.... Nobody will be "attacking" you about being so heavy in one company. My biggest stress reducer after losing my job was that I was free to unwind a mandatory subs...

Pundits look at what happens and devise a rationale. Whether their explanation is right or wrong is unimportant because it is likely irrelevant . Only one thing is important: are cash flow needs addressed. That's it. Easy peasy. Short term, cash flow is determined by income and one's emergency fund....

https://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIod2JucKs3wIVEhx9Ch0nMAWyEAAYASAAEgKCuvD_BwE Easy-peasy. Invest in some rubber gloves and a face shield. Always wear long sleeves and long pants and wash immediately after use. Use all pesticides with the assumption that some day they will be ...

Will going from 80/20 to 70/30 really make much difference either to the probable range of outcomes or to your ability to sleep? I think not. Staying put on equity and shifting new money to fixed will make you feel like you are doing something, but would be of real benefit if it keeps you from selli...

Just finished a $65k to-the-studs kitchen renovation. This was with reusing all of the appliances, flooring, and layout and doing most of the labor ourselves. What we learned: 1) High-end renovators (the kind with public seminars) seek clueless HDTV-addled dimwits who will blindly overpay for a drea...

The sticker price for a cruise is the "come on" to get you on board. The actual cost, you'll find, is the morally obligatory "tip" for everyone you run into both on board and on shore. All excursions - overpriced activities when you're off the ship - are additional as well. Plan to pay a multiple of...

I went full time to a second tier law school when I was "reinventing myself" at age 45. In retrospect, I had absolutely no idea what a practicing lawyer actually does - especially for one that graduates below the top 10%. Fortunately, for me it was affordable and I had a tremendous time. I spent sum...

I am following this because I have related questions. I am unsure which home improvements would be considered "improvement" versus replacement or maintenance. My house is 30 years old and I am thinking about selling in a few years. Examples: Replaced original roof with same type of roof, but higher...

How does Vanguard Advisors qualify as a fiduciary when they only recommend their own investment products and won't consider or discuss your other holdings? They have started spamming me. As someone who started investing with them in the 1980s I have to say I dislike the direction they are going wit...

At the risk of sounding negative, I would rally like to hear from those brave enough to tell lessons learned by retiring too early. *Did you underestimate the amount needed? Not the total. *Did you misjudge healthcare costs? I thought my costs would go down dramatically with Medicare. With IRMAA my...

By Vanguard's research team. Very detailed. Brief Summary: Portfolio implications: A low return orbit Investors have experienced spectacular returns over the last few decades because of two of the strongest equity bull markets in U.S. history, in addition to a secular decline in interest rates from...

Keep receipts. Make sure that these are discrete improvements / obvious upgrades and not merely replacements-in-kind. Keep before and after pictures too. Whether or not these "capital improvements" will be deemed appropriate to increase basis cannot easily be determined in advance....

I have recently discovered that IRMAA for parts B and D will amount to an annual $8,851 extra payment (MFJ) for my Medicare starting at age 65 for both of us in 2019. The total cost (including Plan G Medigap and Part D coverage) of $19k is only slightly lower than the unsubsidized coverage of $22k q...

Everything depends on the quality of the Medicare Advantage network in your area. If the "specialists" in their network would be the one's you'd go to regardless, and if you are confident that you'd get a referral from your primary, then the MAP may be the way to go. OTOH if you would prefer to not ...

fairly low tax bracket for tax exemtp until marginal rate is 30s But if you do the math, you will see that tax-exempt can make sense even in the 22% bracket. What are you basing your statement on? Conventional wisdom? At 22% muni contribution could be for diversification and to keep AGI lower for s...

I will say, having managed an older relative's portfolio, that munis might end up being better when you go on Medicare and start having to pay the IRMAA premiums. But that's not something you need to worry about for right now. Unfortunately, tax exempt interest is added to adjusted gross income to ...

Bond funds with similar duration have similar risk with regard to changes in interest rates, but differ in specific risk. Corporate bonds correlate moderately with equity, federal obligations are mostly risk free as the feds can (and do!) print money, and muni's depend on solvency and ability to tax...